Can You Eat Too Much Asparagus?

Top10Keto

Can you eat too much asparagus? This is a low-calorie food with just 40g in a full cup. This makes it an outstanding choice plus you get lots of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. These features can help you get in all your daily value (DV) of nutrients. This is critical for good overall health.

The asparagus might not seem too healthy since it’s thin and high in water content. However, this is easily one of the best go-to foods if you’re looking for good low-carb foods. It’s also easy to add to your meals as a side dish with chicken breast of beef steak, for example.

One of the main issues with asparagus is there are some big question marks about it. For example, what kind of vegetable is it? Is grilled asparagus a thing? Which nutrients does it provide? Getting the answers to these questions can make it easier to understand and enjoy this food whether it’s at a backyard cookout or family dinner.

Fun Fact: When asparagus plants start growing it’s one of the first signs that spring has sprung. It’s also good to know other facts about this veggie like the best foods to pair it with.

What in the World Is Asparagus?

Let’s talk about the nitty-gritty of this green vegetable. It’s famous for its thin spears/stalks that’s actually a sign that spring is breaking. You can even add this veggie to several spring-time dishes like omelets to salads. When paired with other spring vegetables you’ll have a super-healthy meal.

There are various reasons why this food is super-popular. There’s the full flavor that pairs well with meats and veggies. Besides that, there are other benefits including loads of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. It even has some properties for fighting cancer.

Like other veggies, it’s important to know the basics about asparagus. This will put you in the know about how to prepare this veggie. You’ll also know about the nutritional value of the thin vegetable so you can add it to your everyday meals.

Fun Fact: There are actually 200+ types of asparagus within its family. This veggie is used for more than food. Some types are used to decorate homes. However, the one most people know about is the garden asparagus. This is the one you can boil, bake, grill, broil, steam, and so on.

An interesting fact about asparagus is that they don’t have to be planted each year. This is the case of veggies known as “annuals.” In fact, a limited number of “perennial” veggies keep growing back every year. Asparagus is one of them. This explains why you can sometimes see wild asparagus growing.

The history of asparagus actually dates back 2,500+ years ago to Ancient Greece. Meanwhile, the Ancient Romans also ate a healthy veggie. In fact, wild asparagus also grew during that time.

What was ancient asparagus-like? The first farmed asparagus were darker and thinner than the varieties you can find at today’s farmer’s markets. Another major difference is the flavor was also more bitter than bitter asparagus.

Can You Eat Too Much Asparagus?

The good news is that there aren’t any serious side-effects from eating this vegetable. However, there might be some side-effects you might experience. They include:

1. Digestion Issues

You might have some minor digestion problems from eating asparagus. However, they’re major ones so you shouldn’t really worry about the situation. This is related to possible mild digestion problems. It shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

2. Urine Smell

This is one of the side-effects you might experience after eating asparagus. Like others, it’s not really a major one. This is just the body processing the food and part of the regular processes of the digestive system.

What’s it all about? Asparagus is a kind of “diuretic” that makes you urinate more. In fact, it can help to flush out extra fluids/salts in your body, which is a good thing. It’s especially important due to modern diets like the so-called Standard American Diet (SAD). So, it’s more important than ever to rid your body of unwanted wastes/toxins.

3. Food Allergy

You also might experience an asparagus-triggered food allergy. If you’re also allergic to various foods in the lily family then you also might have an asparagus allergy. This includes foods like chives, onions, and garlic. You might experience different symptoms like:

Hives

Puffiness

Runny nose

Mouth/Lips swelling

Breathing problems

If you think you might have an asparagus allergy you should contact your doctor or a dietician. They can determine whether the symptoms are caused by an allergy or something else. This could include an examination and tests run to determine the situation.

As noted, there aren’t any major conditions linked to asparagus symptoms. The key is to observe whether or not you experience side-effects, which might be normal results of eating the veggie. When in doubt contact your doctor.

Asparagus: Nutrition Facts

Here’s what you get from ½ cup of asparagus:

CALORIES

There are just 20 calories in this amount of asparagus. It’s quite low and just 1% that you’re allowed on a 2,000-calorie diet. This means you can add other veggies to your meals and not worry about going over your daily limit. You can also add other ingredients like garlic butter without worrying about your dish becoming high-calorie.

CARBS

In this amount, there’s just 2.5g of carbs. This is quite low and even lower when you factor in fiber. If you’re on a low-carb diet like Keto or Atkins this is a good option since you won’t have to deal with high carbohydrate intake. Veggies tend to be low-carb except starchy ones like potatoes, yams, and turnips.

FAT

There’s basically no fan in asparagus. In ½ cup, you get 0.2g of fat. This is about as low as it gets for whole foods. The main drawback is if you’re on a high-fat diet like Keto you’ll have to consume about three-quarters of your calories from fats. You could boost the amount in asparagus dishes by adding ingredients like real cheese or grass-fed butter.

PROTEIN

There’s 2.2g of protein in this serving size. It’s not sky-high but you can get some extra protein to add to your daily intake. Some better sources include meat, eggs, dairy, soybeans, and quinoa. That said, when you consider the other nutrients, you’re getting it’s not a big issue with the vegetable.

VITAMINS/MINERALS

You get lots including the following daily values:

Vitamin K; 57% DV

Folate 34% DV

Vitamin A: 18% DV

Vitamin C: 12% DV

You also get moderate amounts of Vitamin E, potassium, phosphorous. The main takeaway is the thin vegetable offers lots of nutrients in a 20-calorie serving. Consider that you get over half of your Potassium and one-third of folate after learning can you eat too much asparagus.

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